Phil Couture and Mike Tarasyuk – Realism Art Exhibition

2014 Realism Art Exhibition – MyArtContest.com

Phil Couture – Kyoto, Japan

Phil Couture is a realist painter currently residing in Kyoto, Japan.  Born in Quebec, Canada, Phil’s appreciation and interest in art developed early on as a child growing up in Lakeland, Florida.  Exploring new cultures becomes a running theme in Phil’s work.   “I enjoy painting and drawing what piques my interest, which usually includes visiting cultures from around the world.” Whether it’s painting geisha from Japan, holy men from Nepal, or the rocky shores of Greece, Phil enjoys exploring the exotic and the interesting. Aside from winning numerous awards, his paintings and drawings hang  internationally in private collections.

Art critic Brian Sherwin commented on Phil Couture’s artwork, stating, “Phil handles traditional and everyday life scenes with equal passion. This passion is reflected by the elegant manner in which he captures his subjects. The viewer can ‘feel’ a sense of pride and honor resonating from the individuals that Phil has painted.” Sherwin added, “Phil Couture’s drawings and paintings remind us of the beauty of diversity… and how fascinating it is to consider the world within a larger context.”

Check out Phil’s blog at: http://philcouture.blogspot.jp/ for updates on his paintings, drawings, and travels.

Mike Tarasyuk – Brookline, MA

Mike Tarasyuk was born in Moscow, Russia, and moved to the United States in 1991.  Since 2000, he lives with his family in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Mike has been drawing, painting, and sculpting since early age. He had attended a number of art studios in Russia, training in still life, figure drawing, landscape, and conceptual art in oil, gouache, watercolors, and dry media. He continued his art education in the US, where he attended a program in traditional and computer-based animation at the UCLA School of Film and Television, as well as other art courses and studios, and worked as a graphic artist at Learning Systems Sciences in Los Angeles.

As a kid in Moscow, when not drawing, Mike would be reading. Stories from books and not from screen fill the plot lines, while leaving the visuals to imagination. Then and now, Mike’s landscapes and still lives, and especially his “Stories” are illustrative and narrative. In both the subject matter and visuals, Mike keeps the graphical language dramatic, building his color choices and stroke approach on contrast as much as on harmony. Having a strong drawing background, he introduces contours and his characteristic cross-hatching, setting them against traditional brush strokes. In his imagery, Mike combines realistic depictions with impressionistic air, reaching at times into more unconstrained expressions and even ornaments.